Impact of Formulated Ice cube on patients with Mucositis - Pilot Study Report

Abstract

Objective: Chemotherapy induced mucositis is one of the most common complications seen in patients and it usually starts 5-7 days after completing chemotherapy. It causes oral pain, impaired nutritional intake, risk of local and systemic infections, and increased healthcare costs.

The primary objective of this study was to assess the effect of formulated ice cube on patients with mucositis.

Methods: The study was done using pretest posttest research design. Standardized WHO oral toxicity scale and Patient Reported Oral Mucositis Scale (PROMS) was used for the study.

Result: Descriptive trends suggested improvement in the experimental group, the Mann-Whitney U test showed no statistically significant difference between groups (U = 10.00, p = 0.513). The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test revealed a significant reduction in PROMS scores within the experimental group on both Day 4 and Day 7 (Z = -2.023, p = 0.043), indicating subjective symptom relief. WHO scale scores also improved, but not significantly (Z = -1.732, p = 0.083). 100% of participants in the experimental group reported relief from pain, redness, and inflammation, preferred CPOC over other therapies, found it palatable, and experienced no side effects. However, CPOC did not improve swallowing difficulty.

Conclusion: This pilot study provided valuable insights into the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the formulated ice cube in alleviating mucositis symptoms among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.